1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to lever pivoting structures for pivotally connecting a lever to a fixed member, and more particularly to lever pivoting structures of a type that pivotally connects an operation lever to an inner panel of an automotive door.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one known lever pivoting structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13 of the accompanying drawings, which has been employed for transmitting an operative movement of a control knob mounted on an automotive door to a door lock mounted on the door.
In FIG. 11, the lever pivoting structure is designated by reference xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d. In this drawing, denoted by reference xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d is a side door that is pivotally connected to a body of a motor vehicle for opening and closing a door opening defined in the body. A known door lock 1, such as one disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,625, is mounted to a free end of the side door xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d, which has a locking/unlocking lever 2 for selectively locking and unlocking a latch lever of the door lock 1. A first transmission rod 3 extends from the locking/unlocking lever 2 to one end of a pivot lever 7 of the lever pivoting structure xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d mounted on an inner panel 4 of the door xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d. From the other end of the pivot lever 7, there extends a second transmission rod 6 to a control knob 5 that is movably mounted on the inner panel 4 at a position remote from the door lock 1. Thus, when the control knob 5 is pulled in an unlocking direction, that is, leftward for example, the locking/unlocking lever 2 is pivoted in a corresponding direction to unlock the latch lever of the door lock 1. With this, the door xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d becomes ready for opening.
The detail of the lever pivoting structure xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d is shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, particularly FIG. 12 that is a sectional view taken along the line XIIxe2x80x94XII of FIG. 11.
In FIG. 12, denoted by numeral 8 is a circular opening formed in the inner panel 4, and denoted by numeral 10 is a grommet made of an elastic plastic, which is fitted in the circular opening 8. The grommet 10 comprises a tubular portion 10a, a flange portion 10b formed on a rear end of the tubular portion 10a, and a tapered portion 10c formed on a front end of the tubular portion 10a. 
As is seen from FIG. 13, the tapered portion 10c is formed with a plurality of axial slits 10e to provide a plurality of latching pawls (no numerals). The grommet 10 has an annular groove (no numeral) that is defined around the tubular portion 10a between the flange portion 10b and the tapered portion 10c. As is seen from FIG. 12, when the grommet 10 is properly fitted in the circular opening 8, the annular groove of the grommet 10 receives therein a peripheral portion of the opening 8 thereby tightly holding the grommet 10 in the opening 8. The grommet 10 is formed with an axial bore 10d through which a shaft member 11 extending from a pivot lever 7 passes. The pivot lever 7 is formed at a middle portion thereof with a circular opening 9 through which the shaft member 11 passes. The pivot lever 7 has at both ends respective openings (no numerals) with which bent ends of the first and second transmission rods 3 and 6 are pivotally engaged.
As is best seen from FIG. 13, the shaft member 11 comprises a body portion 11a, an enlarged flange portion 11b formed on a rear end of the body portion 11a, a tapered head portion 11c formed on a front end of the body portion 11a, and a neck portion 11d formed between the head portion 11c and the body portion 11a. 
For mounting the lever pivoting structure xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d to the inner panel 4, the following assembling process is employed.
First, as is seen from FIG. 13, the grommet 10 is pushed at the tapered portion 10c against a periphery of the circular opening 8 of the inner panel 4. With this, the grommet 10 is tightly put in the circular opening 8 having the peripheral portion of the opening 8 received in the annular groove 10a thereof. Then, by using one hand of an assembler, the pivot lever 7 is brought to and pressed against the enlarged flanged portion 10b of the grommet 10 while assuring aligned arrangement between the axial bore 10d of the grommet 10 and the circular opening 9 of the pivot lever 7. Then, with the pivot lever 7 kept pressed against the enlarged flange portion 10b of the grommet 10 by the same hand, the shaft member 11 is put into the opening 9 of the lever 7 and then into the axial bore 10d of the grommet 10 in order by using the other hand. Finally, the shaft member 11 is strongly pushed into the axial bore 10d of the grommet 10, so that the tapered head portion 11c thereof is slipped in the axial bore 10d and projected outward (viz., leftward in FIG. 13) from the split tapered portion 10c of the grommet 10. With these steps, the lever pivoting structure xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d is properly assembled on the inner panel 4 of the door xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d, as shown in FIG. 12.
However, as will be easily understood from the above description, the lever pivoting structure xe2x80x9cLPSxe2x80x9d needs a troublesome and time-consumed assembling process. More specifically, the manual work for inserting the shaft member 11 into the opening 9 of the lever 7 and the axial bore 10d of the grommet 10 while keeping the alignment therebetween is very difficult and thus needs a skilled technique, which tends to bring about an increase of costs of the door xe2x80x9cDxe2x80x9d.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lever pivoting structure which is free of the above-mentioned drawback.
That is, a main object of the present invention is to provide a lever pivoting structure which can be easily mounted on a panel member.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever pivoting structure mounted on a panel member, which comprises a first circular opening formed in the panel member; a shaft member including a body portion, an enlarged flange portion formed on a rear end of the body portion and a stopper head portion formed on a front end of the body portion, the stopper head portion establishing a latched engagement between the stopper head portion and the first circular opening once the stopper head portion is put into the first circular opening; a pivot lever formed with a second circular opening through which the body portion of the shaft member passes, the pivot lever having a first surface to which the enlarged flange portion faces and a second surface to which the stopper head portion faces; and at least one resilient stopper tongue integrally formed on the body portion of the shaft member, the resilient stopper tongue extending toward the enlarged flange portion while gradually separating from an axis of the shaft member, a free end of the resilient stopper tongue abutting against the second surface of the pivot lever upon engagement between the shaft member and the pivot lever.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a lever pivoting structure mounted on a panel member, which comprises a first circular opening formed in the panel member; a resilient grommet put in the first circular opening to achieve a latched engagement therebetween, the grommet having an axial bore formed therethrough; a shaft member including a body portion, an enlarged flange portion formed on a rear end of the body portion and a stopper head portion formed on a front end of the body portion, the stopper head portion establishing a latched engagement between them stopper head portion and the grommet once the stopper head portion is put into the axial bore of the grommet; a pivot lever formed with a second circular opening through which the body portion of the shaft member passes, the pivot lever having a first surface to which the enlarged flange portion faces and a second surface to which the stopper head portion faces; and resilient stopper tongues integrally formed on the body portion of the shaft member and extending toward the enlarged flange portion while gradually separating from an axis of the shaft member, free ends of the resilient stopper tongues abutting against the second surface of the pivot lever upon engagement between the shaft member and the pivot lever.